Mela Restaurant Review

: Tableside hot stone cooking is the stock-in-trade of this handsome contemporary Indian eatery on the South End’s Restaurant Row. Brought to you by One World Cuisine --- which corners the market on upscale subcontinental boîtes in Boston, from Diva to Kashmir to Mantra --- it gives you a taste of its modernity in its look of copper, glass and stone; then it gives you a taste of its menu of just-beyond-traditional dishes, the center of which involves your choice of protein heated on a granite slab and accompanied by subtly spiced sauces. The bargain lunch buffet for under $10 includes everything from an appetizer, soups, entrées and desserts. From the main menu, start with skewered chicken tikka with yogurt. Lamb vindaloo is as hearty as it is spicy, while the seafood masala has just the right amount of cream in the tangy tomato sauce. Other standout dishes include beef curry and Mela biryani, a massive serving of basmati rice filled with shrimp, chicken, fish, beef, vegetables and raisins. A full bar furthers the sense you’re not in your father’s curry shop.